5 Thoughts About the Identity of Lucille in The Walking Dead

But, if you are like me, you are probably wondering just who or what this “Lucille” is. Since we had so much fun with the Boom! Freelancer teasers, we are back with 5 thoughts about the identity of Lucille (from least likely and most entertaining to most likely and least entertaining).

art by Brandt Hardin

1. Lucille Ball. The zombie plague which has caused the recently departed to rise up and walk the earth again has continued to evolve and infect. It has worked its way underground and now the not-so-recently departed are rising up. While one would think that Ball, who died in 1989, may be a little too far gone to be an effective threat, rumor has it that all the Vitameatavegimin she consumed has done a remarkable job preserving her. Now she roams the streets with an insatiable hunger for human flesh . . . and chocolate.

2. B.B. King’s Lucille. Of all the musical instruments in the world, B.B. King’s Lucille is probably the most famous single instrument. For the past 6 decades, King and his black Gibson guitar have blazed a path through R&B, Soul, Rock and the Blues. Following in his footsteps are the likes of Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Robert Cray, and Stevie Ray Vaughan.

But the origins of the guitarLucille are steeped in death and diaster. In the winter of 1949, King played at a dance hall in Twist, Arkansas. In order to heat the hall, a barrel half-filled with kerosene was lit, a fairly common practice at the time. During a performance, two men began to fight, knocking over the burning barrel and sending burning fuel across the floor. The hall burst into flames, which triggered an evacuation. Once outside, King realized that he had left his guitar inside the burning building. He entered the blaze to retrieve his beloved $30 Gibson guitar. Two people died in the fire. The next day, King learned that the two men were fighting over a woman named Lucille. King named that first guitar Lucille, as well as every one he owned since that near-fatal experience, as a reminder never again to do something as stupid as run into a burning building or fight over women.

With all the death and destruction in the world of the Walking Dead, a little music could go a long way. But to have it played on the greatest guitar, whose origin comes compete with two dead bodies? Poetry. Pure poetry.

3. Robert Kirkman has used the extra pages of The Walking Dead to highlight comics and creators who he believes are deserving of wider recognition. Someone deserving of wider recognition in the U.S. is Ludovic Debeurme, creator of the comic, Lucille. Given the content of the comic Lucille, it seems like a natural fit for the pages of The Walking Dead.

This rich and intimate story follows two teenagers, Lucille and Arthur, as they struggle with the complex legacies inherited from their families: legacies of illness and pride, of despair and hope. Somehow two lonely misfits form an instant connection, and with the intoxicating boldness of youth, they journey together across Europe, discovering each other, discovering themselves, and hoping against all odds to make their own destiny.

4. Hurricane Lucille. While the weary travelers make their way along the Eastern seaboard, a new threat is approaching from the south, hurricane Lucille. A category 3 hurricane, Lucille is packed with 120 mile per hour winds, torrential rain, and zombies falling from the skies. Rick and the crew have to hunker down and wait it out. but what if they are not alone?

This one actually does provide some interesting storytelling opportunities. A natural disaster on top of the un-natural disaster they have been facing for the past 100 issues. Give me a call Kirkman, we can noodle on this one together!

A power-hungry governor with delusions of grandeur

5. A Governor-like character created to fill the gap left by the previous Governor and to satisfy the desires of people watching the tv show who want to see The Governor in comics after they saw him on tv.

Not terribly original, but that is why it is number 5 on the list. The Walking Dead now serves two masters. There are the fans who have read the comic and supported it, growing it from an initial print run of somewhere near 2,500 in to a comic that is out-selling most superhero comics on the stands. For those fans, this is probably the least appealing idea. It is just a re-hashing of something we have already seen.

Then there are the fans who have discovered The Walking Dead on tv and helped grow the show to the highest rated show on cable tv. Those fans actually do go out and buy Walking Dead comics. Once the Governor storyline wraps up this season they are going to want to read about it. What would be a better way to hook people coming into stores than by saying, “So, you liked the Governor? You are going to love Lucille!”